On 7/8/2015 1:00 PM, Maia McCormick via Callers wrote:
If you can get the band on-board, any number of sea
chanteys are
contra-tune-able--for instance, Drunken Sailor and South Australia, in
addition to the sea songs already in the repertoire like Sailor's
Hornpipe (which turns up in the Popeye theme!). Also, He's a Pirate from
Pirates of the Caribbean is loads of fun to dance to (I've got a version
that I engraved if you/the band wants).
As far as dances in the theme, A Pirate's Life for Me by Nathaniel Jack,
High Seas by Diane Silver, and Captain Shank's Revenge by Maggie Jo
Saylor all come to mind, and I'm sure there are loads more! (Though my
favorite part about Captain Shank can be applied to pretty much any
dance: in a Petronella, instead of clapping, shout "yo ho!")
Andrea Nettleton may have already responded offline, but she's written a
really fun contra called Pirates Across The Atlantic, based on an
English dance called Dancing Across The Atlantic (by Loretta Holz). The
distinctive opening figure has a chase move that can get really silly.
Did someone already mention Nathaniel Jack's "Walk the Plank"?
Kalia